Automatic reversing device for washing-machines



P. C. MOSSNER.

AUTOMATIC REVERSING DEVICE FOR WASHING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED APR. 3, 1920.

1,392,961, Patented Oct. 11, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

INVENTOR APPLICATION FILED APR. 3,1920.

2 SHEETWTHEET 2.

Patented Oct. 11, 1921.

II I III II I MW ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TETER MOSSNER, "OF SAGIN'AW, MICHIGAN.

AUTOMATICREVERSING DEVICE FOR WASHING-MACHINES.

Application "filed A ril 3,

To all whom it may concern:

I Be it known that I, PETER C. MossNnR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sa inaw, in the county of Sagin'awan'd State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Reversforgact-uatin'g the drum, the source of power being preferably an electric motor, for its equivalent, running continuously in one direction. i I

improvement more specifically relates to the driving or power-transmitting mechanism interposed between the revolving drum and the source of power,jwhereby the continuous rotation of the power-wheel imparts to the drum a continuous rotation for a specified number of turns in one direction, andthen the reversing ofthe' drum and its continuous rotation in the opposite direc tion for a certain number of turns, thereby imparting to the drum rotations, first righthand and then left-hand. a

My improvement further includes means whereby, at each reversal of -in'o'tion of the drum, the drum is brought to rest at such a position that the opening of the drum, through which the articles to be washed are inserted, will always be at the top of travel of the drum, so that the "opening is in convenient location for the insertion of the 'ar ticles to be washed and the drum aperture. I 1 a 'VVith these and -cert'at'u other objects in view, which will appear later thespecification, my invention comprises the devices described and claimed and the equivalents thereof.

My invention is ijllustratedin the accomfor the closing of panying drawings, which-Figure 1 is a rear elevation ofthe coin lete'd washing machine with a wringer attached thereto.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented O a. 11, 1921. 1920. SeriaI No. 371,025.

Fig. 2 is a perspective detail oflthe prin cipal parts of the reversing mechanism, showing the device by which the drum is brought to rest in the proper position.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontalsection'of the machine, takenon the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical section, broken away on the line 44 of Fig. 1. 7

As is clearly shown in thedrawings, the machine consists in the "usual tub or container 1 mounted in a suitable frame. In

this tub is revolubly mounted a washing drum 2 having itsperiphery formed of slats 3*spaced'apart in the usualnianner.

p 4 is the drum-shaft, which may be mount- Upon the shaft 4 isa sprocket5 carrying a chain 6, by means of which the drumis ro- 'tated. i

To rotate the drum several revolutions,

"first in one direction and then in the opposite direction, 'I

provide the mechanism shown in detail in Figs. 3 and 4, where 7 and '8 are sprocket wheels loosely carrie'clby parallel shafts 9and 10 revolubly mounted in suitable bearings on the frame of tub 1.

I The chain 6 passes around sprocket '5 and also around sprockets 7 and 8.

I'ntermeshing gearslll and 12are fixed re spectively to the shafts v9 and 10, one of these gears, as 12, being driven by a drivegear 13, revolubly mounted on the driveshaft 14, this shaft being carried by suitable bearings supported by the frame of tub 1.

Fixed to one end of shaft '14 is a bevel gear 15, which meshes with beveled pinions 16, either of which is adapted to be clutched to a vertical shaft 17, which actuates wringer 18. The opposite end of shaft 14 carries a -worm-wheel 19, which is driven by a worm 20. Worm 20 is fixed to a shaft 21, and this shaft is alined with and normally connected to the shaft 22 of a motor 23, by mea'nsjof a friction-clutch 24. 7 When the motor is in operation, the worm 20, driven through the friction-clutch 24, actuates shaft 14' and gear 13, through the medium of a sliding clutch 25, which is Fsplined to shaft 14, one face of the clutch engaging a corresponding clutch-face 'on'the drive-gear 13. The drive-gear 13 actuates the "gears 11 and 12 and one only of the pair of sprockets 7 and 8. i I

It will be understood that the gears 11 and 12, being intermeshing gears, rotate in in part, the section being taken ed in'suit'able bearings carried by the tub 1.

. ing means opposite directions, as do also their shafts .9 and 10. I

Either of the two sprockets, 7 or 8, may be locked to its shaft,-the other sprocket of the 9, while clutch 27 is out of engagement with 1 has traveled, say, to the chain '6, and since the et 7, the motion of the chain,

chain will cause, say, H

the drum to the right and thenthree revoits gear 8. 7

To reverse the motion of chain, 6, it 15 only necessary to throw in clutch 27 and simultaneously disengage'clutch 26. his, is done by means of a rocking arm 28pwh1ch s shown in perspective in Fig.2. This arm 28 carries two upwardly projecting pins, or theirequivalents, 29 and 3 the pin 29 actuating clutch27 backward and forward along the shaft 10 and the pin 30 simultaneously actuating clutch 26 backward and forward alongthc shaft 9. p

To oscillate the rocking arm 28, a horizontal projecting bar 81 is fixed tofarm 28. This bar is adapted to be engaged by alug, as 3% on chain 6', Thus, when the chain right, .a distance equal tothe length of the chain, the lug 32 engages the arm '31, throws ,outclutch 27 and throws in clutchQG, as shown in Fig. 8'.

When the lughas struck the arm 31 and moved it to the right, thereby rocking the arm 31 and throwing in clutch 27 while withdrawing clutch 26, the sprocket 8 thereupon'becomes an actuating sprocket of the direction of revolution of sprocket 8 is opposite that of sprockand conse- 'quently the direction of rotation of drum 2 is reversed. The chain then continues to travel around in the opposite direction until lug 32 engages the bar 31 on the opposite side, andthe motion of the, chain is again reversed. i

It will be noted that areversal of motion of the chain takes place once in each complete revolution of the chain, but since the chainuis of relatively great length as compared with the'circumference offthe sprocket 5, several revolutions, as three or more, of the drum will take place between the successive reversals of 'the chain. Thus the three revolutions of lutions to the left.

I the opening in the drum,

.clothes are inserted, is at the top,

V The details of .clutch 24: are not illustrated here, as: anygjsuitable friction clutch may be employed for the purpose. Tostop the drum 2-at a predetermined position, as for example, the position when through which the so that the drum may be easily emptied or filled, I

by the frame-ofthe'tub 1. L-'

frame of the tub.

handle '33 i'sfin its finger e0 will move provide the mechanism illustrated in detail in Fig.j2,'in.which 33 is a handle wh ch rests upon a cam-shaped bracket 34: carried When handle 33 is turned, its downwardly projecting: end 35 raises and lowers a springarm 36, one end of which is fixed to the On the outer end of this arm 36 rests one end 1? of a movable L- shaped bracket or latch, pivoted, as at 38, to the frame of the machine, the upwardly projecting end of the latch being provided with a notch 39.

EVhen the spring as indicated by -the dotted linesin Fig; 2, We end of the shaped bracket is similarly raised or lowered'and its notched end 39 is moved inwardly or outwardly, as indicated the full and dotted lines in Fig. 2.

YJhen the latch is in its upward position, as shown by the dotted lines, it is out of engagement with the upwardly projecting finger 40 of bar 131 but when handle 38' is in its lowered position, as indicated by full lines infFig. 2, the notch 39' will receive the 36 is raised orlowered,

by the lug 32 on chain 6 Consequently,

when the lug strikes the arm 31, if the lowered position, the p to the central'position of its travel and thereupon automatically become engaged by the notch 39 of the latch,

thus locking the arm 31 1n 1ts central 'posit-ion, both clutches '26 and 27 being out of engagement with'the gears 7 and 8,"stopping the drum in its proper position, with the-opening uppermost, at the samef-time leaving the drum free to be turned by hand if desired, in the filling or emptying operation.

The openin g of the drum, asabove described is omitted from the drawings for.

the sake of clearness, it being understood that it can be provided with any suitable cover and can be located'at any desired part .of the periphery of thedru'm, as is usual in this class ofmachinesp 1 y Itl'will be understood that'when the drum has been stopped, the fingerAO, being held by the notch139, and the clutches 26 and p 27 both being out of engagement, it is desirablethat means he provided for automatically throwing the clutch 26, orrthe clutch 27,as the case maybe, into engagement when the drum is again started; Otherwise, the clutches wouldremain in their neutral position and the ,drum would fl not turnunless the rocking-arm 28 is moved either to the right or left when handlef33 vis again shifted. to start the machine.

To provide this. automatic shifting of the arm 28, I provide springs ll and 42, each ofwhieh is-locat'ed at-one sideof the arm 31 and is adapted tdbe engaged by the lug 1 2 of chain 6 at the time the lug approaches 1 he arm and throws the clutches out of action, in order to stop the machine. The spring being thus left under tension, it follows that when notch 39is again drawn back to release the finger 40 by means of the handle 33, the spring, as 42 in Fig. 3,

will automatically throw the bar 31 from its central position, thereby rocking the arm 28 and throwing one of the clutches, as 26, into mesh With the clutch face of gear 7, thus positively starting the machine When handle 33 is moved to the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

By the means above described, I have produced a Washing machine of the revolving drum type of simple construction, effective in operation and not likely to get out of order. The parts are all so arranged as to be' readily inclosed, and the mechanism, While being effective in operation, enables the drum to be automatically stopped at a predetermined position each time and to be again automatically started When the handle is again move I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In a Washing machine, the combination of a revoluble drum having a shaft, a sprocket on the shaft of said drum, a motor.

loose on each shaft, a clutchadapted to re leasably secure each sprocket Wheel to its shaft, intermeshing gears on said shafts, means for driving one of said gears from said motor, a drive chain engaging said drum shaft sprocket and said loose sprockets, a clutch-shifting device adapted to simultaneously actuate said clutches to engage one and disengage the other of said loose sprockets, and engaging means on said chain adapted to actuate said clutch-shift- "ng device at each'complete revolution of said chain, whereby to impart to said drum a plurality of revolutions, first in one.direction and then in the opposite direction, for the purposes set forth.

PETER c. MOSSNER.

and drum-actuating means comprising a pair of parallel shafts, a sprocket Wheel In testimony whereof, I aflix my signa- I ture. I Having thus described my invention,what 

